Javier Zanetti is a defensive midfielder who plays for Italian side Internazionale Milano and the Argentinian national team. Zanetti was Massimo Moratti’s first signing after he became the owner of Inter Milan. They signed him from Argentinian Club Atlético Banfield in 1995 when Zanetti was 22 years old. Since then Zanetti has been one of Inter’s key players in their way back to the top team they were known as in the 1960′s (when Massimo Moratti’s father Angelo Moratti was the owner/president of the club). Zanetti has been the captain since 1999 and he played his 700th match for the club in their victorious 2010 UEFA Champions League final. In Zanetti’s time at Inter Milan they have also won the UEFA Cup, 5 Serie A titles and 3 Italian Cups.
Zanetti made his debut for Argentina in 1994. He played for his country at the 1996 Olympics and both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. However he was left out of the Argentinian squad for both the 2006 and the 2010 World Cups, decisions which were heavily criticized by football fans the world over. Zanetti is by a long way the player who has played most matches for Argentina: 137 and still counting.